Sublime soundtrack music from Edward Artemiev – not a big name for film scoring on this side of the Iron Curtain, but a really well-remembered talent for his classic 70s work for the films of Andrey Tarkovsky! Side one of this album features wonderful sounds from the film Stalker – music that begins in a sweet electronic mode, but soon gets darker – a weird space that's somewhere between the German elements of Cluster and Tangerine Dream, and some of the more abstract electronics of the underground academic scene! Yet throughout it all, Artemiev has a very visual approach to his sounds – one that steps out nicely on the one track from the film The Mirror, and an extended tribute to the director too. Titles include "Exodus", "Dedication To Andrey Tarkovsky", "Meditation", "They Go Long", "Stalker", and "Train". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet set of soundtrack funk – from a film named after one of our favorite streets in Chicago! Although the record's got an approach that's perhaps a bit tighter and smoother than anything going down on Stony in the late 70s, it does manage to share a good deal of styles with the Chi-soul scene of the time – thanks to work on the record from Chicagoans Gene Barge, Sonny Seals, and Tennyson Stephens! Many of the tracks on the set have a bad-walking soul approach – one that's kind of a mixture of funky and bluesy – and these are laid out next to some jazzier instrumentals that we like most of all – tunes that have a great funky soundtrack feel, but with a bit more fusion touches than usual, probably because of the work of David Matthews. Titles include "Percy Fired", "Party Lights", "High Speed Posters", "Back To Business", "Chase The Train", "Gangster City", "Dream Ride", and "Peace Of Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the lesser-known John Barry scores of the 60s – penned for an equally lesser-known comedy that starred Michael Caine, Peter Sellers, Peter Cook, Tony Hancock, and Dudley Moore! The tunes have kind of a period feel with slight whimsical touches – not as mod and groovy as you might expect for the time, or for Barry – but with a strong orchestral approach overall, showing John's ability to work well in a more mainstream setting. There's a nice undercurrent of darkness at times, as on some of Barry's other orchestral work – and titles include "Morris Visits Dr Pratt", "Bournemouth Strangler", "Morris Hides As He Sees Handcart", "Montage Of Deaths", and "Yes Who Is That". LP, Vinyl record album

A weird little record from John Barry – the soundtrack to a 1963 television special recorded by Elizabeth Taylor at the height of her early popularity, and featuring Taylor reciting a variety of poems and speeches over music by Barry! There's a relatively high concept feel to the album – as Barry's backings are fairly string-laden and serious, penned to match the mood of Taylor's presentation of material written by William Wordsworth, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Pitt, Winston Churchill, and Queen Victoria. And although Taylor speaks on about half the record, the best tracks here are actually the instrumental ones – which have more of the depth of Barry's serious soundtrack work from the time, and manage to have their own sense of presence apart from the star quality of Liz on the set. Arrangements are by Johnnie Spence, and titles include "Elizabeth", "London Theme Jazz Waltz", "Queen Elizabeth At Tilbury", "Queen Victoria", "English Garden", "The Fire Of London", "Lovers & Browning", and "London At Dawn". CD

A weird little record from John Barry – the soundtrack to a 1963 television special recorded by Elizabeth Taylor at the height of her early popularity, and featuring Taylor reciting a variety of poems and speeches over music by Barry! There's a relatively high concept feel to the album – as Barry's backings are fairly string-laden and serious, penned to match the mood of Taylor's presentation of material written by William Wordsworth, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Pitt, Winston Churchill, and Queen Victoria. And although Taylor speaks on about half the record, the best tracks here are actually the instrumental ones – which have more of the depth of Barry's serious soundtrack work from the time, and manage to have their own sense of presence apart from the star quality of Liz on the set. Arrangements are by Johnnie Spence, and titles include "Elizabeth", "London Theme Jazz Waltz", "Queen Elizabeth At Tilbury", "Queen Victoria", "English Garden", "The Fire Of London", "Lovers & Browning", and "London At Dawn". LP, Vinyl record album

With suites from the Night Visitor. CD

A killer little soundtrack – and one that's quite different than the usual blacksploitation set, but still pretty funky overall! The film Black Girl was a surprisingly sensitive movie directed by Ossie Davis in the early 70s – not as much about action as it was about the everyday life, and the hopes and dreams of the lead characters – all of which made for some really well-rounded music, of the sort you'd find on some of the other great Fantasy Records soundtracks of the time, especially the classic Cornbread Earl & Me score. Ed Bogas and Ray Shanklin put together the whole thing, and the album's a mix of hip instrumental tracks with some other vocal ones – a really nice range that draws from singers like Betty Everett, Rodger Collins, and JJ Malone – and jazz players like Sonny Stitt and John Hunt (plus organ from Merl Saunders on one cut.) Titles include "BJ's Step", "Black Girl", "Sister", "Earl (Still A Pearl)", "Mothers Day Song", "Power", "Get Me To The Bridge", "Chock-lite Puddin", and "Black Girl Cue". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare television soundtrack from Italian jazzman Sandro Brugnolini – easily some of his most hard-hitting work, and a mighty cool record to boot! Brugnolini mixes small combo jazz and some darker orchestrations in a shifting palette of sounds from track to track – which means that some numbers are hard groovers, others have this brooding quality, and still others have this incredible tinkling piano that seems to float in the air – maybe the most gentle passages of the record, but also some of the most eerie too – especially in the way that Sandro mixes darkness and light with effortless ease! Most numbers are short, and work together beautifully – a very vivid record, even away from the images on the screen. Titles include "Aggressione", "Tallonato", "La Notte Muore", "Colluttazione", "Quasi Un Sogno", "Incidente Provocato", and "Tempus Fugit". CD

A well-done batch of music for the initial season of Japanese TV show Long Vacation – served up with a sense of variety and depth that's a great change from American television music for a program of this nature! Cagnet put the whole thing together, but they've got a good sense of variety throughout – shifting singers and styles of music, and moving between vocal numbers and instrumentals that have a nice mix of beats and soundtrack elements. Titles include "Long Vacation" by Anna McMurphy, "Silent Emotion" by Calin, "Little By Little" by Section S, "To Live & Die" by David, "What Will I Do" by Natalie Burks, and the tunes "Tiny Tale", "Back Ground", and "Short Wave Radio". (Japanese, Soundtracks) CD

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Although not actually a proper album – this is still one of the greatest Miles Davis albums of all time! Side one features 10 tracks from Miles' amazing soundtrack to the film Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud – with excellent work by French players Barney Wilen, Rene Urtreger, and Pierre Michelot, on haunting moody tracks like "Generique", "Lassassinat De Carala", "Au Bar Du Petit Bac", and "Dinner Au Motel". Great stuff – and with a wonderful sound that's like no other Miles album! Side 2 is equally great – as it features 3 classic sextet tunes – "On Green Dolphin Street", "Put Your Little Foot Right Out", and "Stella By Starlight" –peformed with Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, and Bill Evans in that amazing Kind Of Blue mode of perfection. Truly one of our favorite albums of all time! (Jazz, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

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